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爱的起源

在这个人们庆祝爱的日子里,让我们提醒自己爱的真正起源。

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情人节——这是全球庆祝爱的日子,鲜花和巧克力的销量飙升,许多情侣特意选择共度美好时光。

作为基督徒,我们不应效仿这个世界的做法,那些做法鼓励我们纵欲,并有这可能导致罪恶的行为。相反,我们应当时刻提醒自己爱的真正起源——神。

“神就是爱,住在爱里面的,就住在神里面,神也住在他里面。”(约翰一书4:16)

没有神,就没有爱。爱不仅仅是简单地说一句“我爱你”,或者送出巧克力和一百朵玫瑰,而是关于牺牲。

“不是我们爱神,乃是神爱我们,差他的儿子为我们的罪做了挽回祭,这就是爱了。”(约翰一书4:10)

在我们出生之前,在我们甚至还不认识神的时候,神已经爱我们。因此,祂差遣祂的独生子耶稣来到世上,为我们所有的罪死在十字架上。祂之所以这样做,是因为祂爱我们,祂不愿意任何人灭亡,而是愿意所有人都悔改得救。(彼得后书3:9)

那么,我们应该如何回应祂的爱呢?

“亲爱的,神既然这样爱我们,我们也应该彼此相爱。”(约翰一书4:11)

因为神先爱了我们,所以我们也爱彼此。我们为彼此牺牲,无论是时间、精力,甚至是我们的生命。

“人为朋友舍命,人的爱心没有比这个大的。”(约翰福音15:13)

然而,除了牺牲的行为之外,爱还必须建立在真理之上。

“我们若爱神,又遵守祂的诫命,从此就知道我们爱神的儿女。”(约翰一书5:2)

如果我们爱神,如果我们爱神的儿女,那么我们也会遵守神的命令,即圣经中所写的真理,神的话语。

此外,人的爱——父母之爱、兄弟之爱、浪漫之爱,这些爱有一天都会终结。唯有神的爱——人与神之间的爱,才是永恒的。

“我深信无论是死、是生、是天使、是掌权的、是有能的、是现在的事、是将来的事、是高处的、是低处的,还是别的被造之物,都不能叫我们与神的爱隔绝,这爱是在我们的主基督耶稣里的。”(罗马书8:38-39)

愿我们对神的爱永远长存。

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但以理书 第四章(英文)

但以理书 第四章(英文)

The story in Daniel Chapter 4 is perhaps not unfamiliar to many of us. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the great Babylonian empire, the king of kings, being turned into a beast, how spectacular is that? It's not until we read through this chapter for ourselves that we realise something even more spectacular: this whole chapter is told by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony! Isn't King Nebuchadnezzar the infamous evil king? How is it that in this chapter he gives praise to the almighty God? Perhaps the first thing that should catch our attention from today's chapter is the repeated phrase in verses 17 and 32. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He wills. This phrase can even be said to be the theme of the whole Book of Daniel. This book is mostly set in the time of exile, when there seemingly was no longer any king over the people of God. Yet, in the Book of Daniel we see that though there was no earthly king ruling over Israel, God made it clear to these foreign kings that He is the almighty God. He was still the one who was truly the King. The outcome of this is that the evil king Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest and most powerful man during his time, writes this testimony for all peoples, nations, and languages to hear (Daniel 4:1-3). Imagine being a subject in the Babylonian empire, and receiving this declaration from king Nebuchadnezzar praising and glorifying the God of Israel. Though God's people sin against Him and are punished by being taken into exile, the name of God is still magnified. God is not put to shame. Today through baptism we have entered into the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is key for us to consider whether God truly is the King of our lives. It's natural to make many plans for our future, out of a desire to lead our dream lives. But for us Christians, the sovereignty and authority of God is something that we must be well-aware of and fully willing to submit to. If God doesn't let me get that job, are we able to accept it? If God closes the path towards our dreams, are we will to say "Let Thy will be done"? If God takes away all that we have, are we able to be like Job and say "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? If all this is causing us to struggle, remember this: God loves us. He knows what's best for us, He knows what we need. He has already given His life for us, and given us His precious Spirit to dwell within us. Having faith in God's love towards us gives us strength to submit to our King with full assurance that this is the best path for us, this is the way to blessing and to eternal life. Since our God is the highest and rules over the kingdom of man, what then should our response ought to be? Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his testimony by praising and glorifying God. Giving praises to God is something that we have been often taught but perhaps we have not given enough thought to or taken seriously enough. Yet, throughout the Bible, it's clear that praises are a key part of our worship to God (just read the Book of Psalms). What might we praise God for? Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can praise God for His greatness and His almightiness. Just consider the stars, or the intricacies of the human body. We can praise God for His love and wisdom as seen in His creation as well as in His word. The more we study into the holy scriptures, the more we are filled with awe at how complete, connected, and wonderful these life-giving words are. We can also glorify God for His salvation which He has so freely given to us. Imagine how different our lives might be today if not for His grace and mercy! It's when we decide to finally take the importance of praising God seriously and intentionally set aside some time in our daily prayers to praise God, that we truly experience the blessing that comes along with it. We go through life being filled with joy and gratitude, knowing that we have such a great and powerful Heavenly Father who loves us. In fact, it was when Nebuchadnezzar took the glory for Himself rather than giving all glory to God, that the infamous transformation into a beast took place. This brings us nicely to the final point of reflection for this devotional. Pride - when we take glory for ourselves rather than giving glory to God. Nebuchadnezzar's testimony serves as a stark warning for us. Even just a sentence or thought of pride can greatly displease God. How often have we unknowingly taken credit for ourselves for any achievements we have, or for any divine work that we do? Being puffed up with pride and not keeping to one's proper domain is precisely the sin of satan (1 Tim 3:6, Jude 6-7). If we are filled with pride, what difference is there between us and satan? In fact, while satan exalted himself, God on the contrary lowered Himself, coming in the likeness of man and humbling Himself even to the point of death (Phil 2:5-8). Whose example do we want to follow, that of God or of satan? Let us take warning from the story of Nebuchadnezzar and carefully consider who's example we want to follow. Indeed, God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, that they might inherit the earth .

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我们是真耶稣教会,一间建立在耶稣与使徒们的教导上的全球性非宗派教会。藉由圣灵创立,我们的使命是把全备的救恩真理传向地极/世界尽头。

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